Elyse Slaine is a bit of a mystery on this season of Real Housewives of New York City. She just showed up one day with very little explanation as to who she is or what she is doing there. She appears in almost every group scene with no mention as to who actually invited her. According to Elyse, that is because she was never meant to be on the show, she really did just show up one day to film with Ramona Singer. Production liked her and asked her to keep showing up. That explains why her introduction has been so awkward, but it still makes her come off as sort of creepy. She is mostly just there, silently staring in the background, kind of like some judgy Upper East Side Morticia Adams.
Anytime Elyse does speak, she talks very quietly and calmly, and almost always states the most rational opinion. It is as though she is doing her best to come across as the voice of reason. What she is really saying is, “Please do not think that I am crazy like these women, listen to how calm I am.” And she definitely seems like a smart, put-together woman. But just the fact that she has been friends with Ramona for years implies that there must be some cray cray going on behind her sleek facade. Now she is even claiming that she introduced OG cast members Jill Zarin and Bethenny Frankel.
In a recent interview with Us Weekly, Elyse talked about joining the show, and how she was actually responsible for the Lucy-and-Ethel friendship between Jill and Bethenny that dominated the early seasons of RHONY.
“I thought that they would enjoy knowing one another,” Elyse said. She added, “I was having dinner with my then-husband and Jill and Bobby [Zarin], and I just invited Bethenny to come along because I thought, ‘Oh, they would really like one another,’ and I love connecting people.”
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I am hearing echoes of Season 1 Jill Here. Wasn’t that part of Jill’s introduction in the very beginning? Wasn’t she calling herself a “connector” and explaining how she enjoys connecting all the fabulous people she knows to one another? This sounds like Elyse is describing herself the same way that Jill did back then. That is a little odd. Is she just repeating something she heard Jill say? It is hard to get a read on Elyse with statements like this.
Elyse further explains that she has been estranged from Bethenny for a long time. Despite “drifting apart years ago” Elyse admits that she still has “tremendous respect” for the B Strong founder. Elyse stated, “If we see each other, we’re certainly very friendly to one another. But from what I hear, Bethenny’s always great, right? Regardless of the fact that we lost touch with one another, we had a falling out. It was really over nothing.”
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I feel like Elyse might be trying to play up her connection to Bethenny here, while at the same time minimizing their falling out and lack of friendship in recent years. This is the thing about Elyse, she always seems very aware of what she is saying at all times. She always says the politically correct thing and tries to come off in the best possible light.
When it comes to Jill, Elyse says the two “mended fences” after not speaking for quite some time. After the death of her husband Bobby in 2018, the two reconnected.
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“A few weeks after Bobby died, we went on a group trip with a bunch of friends to Morocco and we’ve been in touch since,” Elyse remarked. “We’ve had dinner together with another mutual friend. We talk on the phone.”
Hmmm. It is interesting that every time Elyse mentions being good friends with these women, she also mentions having a major falling out with them. Yet she seems to always be mature and calm when it comes to dealing with the ladies on the show. What caused the issues that lead to the demise of the friendship? Are these falling-out episodes just a result of her not being afraid to speak up against the girls? Or is Elyse’s lack of sharing and constant judgment of the other ladies more to blame for these rifts even back then?
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It will be interesting to see if Jill or Bethenny have any comments about their relationship with Elyse. Also, If she has really been around all these girls this long, she must know where some of the bodies are buried. Elyse could have all the tea on these ladies, and just be waiting for her chance to spill it.
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TELL US-ARE YOU LIKING ELYSE THIS SEASON? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE BACKSTORY ON HER? DO YOU WANT TO SEE ELYSE BECOME A FULL-TIME HOUSEWIFE? DO YOU THINK ELYSE REALLY INTRODUCED JILL AND BETHENNY? WHICH OF THE RHONY LADIES HAS BEEN MOST AUTHENTIC THIS SEASON?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]